Family Reunion Monday – November 8, 2021

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Dear Joseph F. Smith Cousins,

            This year because of the continuation of Covid and the Delta Variant which is infecting those who are unable to be vaccinated, the JFS board decided that we would again hold a Virtual Reunion.

            Instead of meeting at the Monument Park Stake building as we have done in previous years, we will again meet virtually over the internet.  We miss the opportunity of meeting in person and hope that by next year, vaccinations will be such that the danger of spreading the virus will be significantly reduced.

            Please join us for our Virtual Reunion on Monday, November 8, 2021. We will have a presentation called, “I Saw the Hosts of the Dead” and downloadable children’s activities. We have prepared a special Family Home Evening to celebrate the birthday of our ancestor, Joseph F. Smith. It will be available at https://josephfsmith.org any time after November 7, 2021.

            Please notify your family data steward of any and all updated addresses. We are sad to announce the passing of Mary Donoho. She has gone on to meet with Papa and other friends and family. For your data steward list, see https://josephfsmith.org/genealogy/

            We ask that you please make a donation so we can continue to have reunions, research family names and addresses. We send out over 2,000 invitations yearly. Your donation covers the cost of postage, website, domain renewal and family history research, etc. This year the suggested donation is $10 – 25 per household. This is less than we have asked for in the past because of the cheaper cost of hosting an on-line reunion. You can make your donation through the website at https://josephfsmith.org/donation or mail it to the family treasurer’s address:

                        Joseph F. Smith Family Association
                        Paul Smith – Treasurer
                        2273 West Smith Legacy Cove
                        Taylorsville, Utah 84129

            We hope that you will be active participants in carrying on the legacy of the Smith family by strengthening family ties, visiting the website, participating in the reunion and living the gospel.

            Thank you,

            Alice Watson

            2021 Reunion Committee Chairman

Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion – 2020 Program

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Welcome to the 2020 Joseph F. Smith Family Reunion program. As the rules for meeting together in Salt Lake City have shifted over the past months, we, the trustees of the Joseph F. Smith Association, decided our best approach would be to provide an outline and presentation for you to use in your own Family Home Evening, to remember our dear prophet, Joseph F. Smith.

We love you, and hope that what we’ve prepared for you here helps you remember our grandfather Joseph F. Smith, and with his example, encourages you in your goals to do what’s right.

I am Paul Smith, and I am the chairman of our reunion this year. We would like to recognize the Trustees of the Joseph F. Smith association, who are: Paul Smith (Mary), Alice Watson (Alice), Shauna Sandberg (Sarah), Sarah Adams (Julina), and Craig Smith (Edna). We also recognize: Mary Donoho, our principal genealogy data steward and address coordinator; Jared Glade, our website and online database coordinator; Chris Rasmussen, our secretary, and Paul Smith, our treasurer. Keeping track of the family is a tough job, and we thank our data stewards: Mary Donoho (Julina), Chris Rasmussen (Sarah), Marilyn Wood (Alice), Jared Glade (Edna), and Becky Lowe – recently replaced by David Scott (Mary). As you have changes in your family, please let your family data steward or Mary Donoho know.

Please recognize those in your family who have been or will be baptized this year or who have turned 12. We plan to have them join us on the stand when we meet in person next year. We also encourage you to appreciate Joseph F. Smith’s living grandchildren, and those you have passed on.

For our primary-age children, we have a coloring book you can download here: Joseph F. Smith Booklet.pdf

Due to the format of our reunion this year, President Ballard has also recorded his message. We are grateful to have both he and President Oaks as part of our family.

Here is the outline we encourage you to follow, including links to music you can play and sing along with, hosted on the website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Feel free to adapt it to the special needs of your family.

Opening Hymn: 19 We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet. After clicking on this link, you’ll see a ‘Play’ button that will let you play the music. When you’re done with the song, come back to this page.

Opening Prayer: Someone from your family

Paul Smith

Paul Smith – Joseph F. Smith

As a family, discuss how being related to the Lord’s prophet Joseph F. Smith, encourages each of you to do and be better. How do his example, and that of his wives, help you be kind to everyone, and to focus on the Gospel, your own family, and all of God’s children?

President M. Russell Ballard

President M. Russell Ballard – Joseph F. Smith

Closing Hymn: 21 Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice. After clicking on this link, you’ll see a ‘Play’ button that will let you play the music. When you’re done with the song, come back to this page.

Closing Prayer: Someone from your family

Refreshments of your choice 😉

Family Reunion Monday, Nov. 9, 2020

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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year we’ll be holding our reunion right here, on this website. Come back to this site on the evening of Monday, November 9.

Because we can’t meet in person, we, the trustees of the Joseph F. Smith Family Association, decided that our best approach would be to provide a program outline and video presentations. We hope you will use these in your own Family Home Evening held on Monday, November 9, to remember our dear prophet and grandfather, Joseph F. Smith. We will include links to recorded hymns and music, so you can sing and pray together as a family. We will also include coloring materials you can download for younger children to help them remember him.

I am Paul Smith, and as it’s my turn to chair this event, I’ve prepared the outline and a video presentation. President Ballard has also recorded his thoughts and encouragement for our family.

We’ve been asked a few times – what time will we hold the reunion? We normally hold the reunion at 7 PM, but that may be too late for some families. Since we have pre-recorded the videos, we’ll put them and the program here early enough that you can get together any time on Monday evening or thereafter.

Looking for a Name

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Back in the late 1960’s I was the home teacher of one of the sons of Joseph F. Smith. He loved his father very much.

He lived in the Salt Lake City avenues at about 5th Avenue and “N” street. I have forgotten his name. Would [anyone] happen to know the name of this man? I would be most appreciative of any help you can give me.

Joe Spendlove

No Ordinary Life

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An autobiography of Helen Mar Carter Monson

https://outskirtspress.com/noordinarylife

A Vivid Memoir of a Unique Childhood

In our modern age of streaming media and scheduled recreation, it’s easy to forget what childhood used to be like—the everyday discoveries and delights, the hilarious catastrophes and small triumphs. No Ordinary Life is a time machine taking us back to Depression-era Salt Lake City, where Helen grew up making wonderful memories: “Spring was here! I coaxed Mama to let me leave my coat home. That way everyone could see my new dress! And that gave me two things to brag about, because most of the children were still cumbered with their winter coats. I was so excited at being center stage, I was talking non-stop as we arrived at school, and opened the doors to the long closet in back to remove our coats. As I sat, I became aware of an unusual silence. Strange. The bell hadn’t rung. I looked around to see what was the matter, and I heard some giggles and whispers, and I saw a girl point at me. I looked at me too. I was sitting there in my petticoat. Instantly I knew what had happened. I had absent-mindedly taken off my button-down-the-front-dress as if it were my coat, and hung it up with everyone else!” Despite poverty and stress, Helen’s stories focus on joy and adventure . . . while providing a poignantly authentic lens on her family and herself. No Ordinary Life is the first book of The Greatest Gamble series, and covers Helen’s life from her earliest memories through junior high.